Loew's Kings

1027 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn NY

This massive 3,192-seat French Renaissance theatre was designed by Chicago
architects Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp and opened on 7 September
1929. The theatre was one of the five showcase "Wonder Theatres"
built by Loew's in New York City and opened on the same day as the Loew's
Paradise in the Bronx.

The theatre and the community began a slow decline in the 1950s, although
the theatre was never subdivided. The theatre closed and was essentially locked
and abandoned in 1977. In 1983 the theatre was seized for nonpayment of taxes
and resisted subsequent subsequent proposals for repurposing or reactivation.
Much to my surprise, a $95.4 million renovation of the city-owned facility
(including $55.5 million in public money)
began in the early 2012 and the facility reopened on 4 February 2015 with a
performance by Detroit-native Diana Ross.